101st AIRBORNE AT CARENTAN, JUNE 1944

#3, Almost Acceptable

After a day of adjusting skin tones and "feathering in" the oils I am satisfied with the results so far. This one is about 80% finished. I still need a bit more work before I set it aside to dry hard before working in some facial textures.

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Time to get the last two heads up to speed and work the new techniques as a set. I may give all of them a dull coat to seal in the work so far. It's always a dice roll when working in a new technique after getting this far, but I'm willing to take that chance.

Thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.

P.S. Let me not forget the red tones as well. Sheesh, just caught that, lol.
 
Breaking the "Glasses" Ceiling

I know some us can get carried away with detail and some of us just move on, but when the detail in literally "in your face" ya kinda gotta pay attention, IMHO. The set of glasses for the young lad on the right were a royal baby rump kisser, to say the least. Now that I've done this at least 7-10 times, or more, I can pretty much knock out a pair in about 15mins, sheesh! This thin copper wire takes a delicate approach or the whole thing goes to pot in a heartbeat and any prior work is caput.

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The lenses for these glasses were made from a plastic envelope that protected a set of decals in my stash. It was the only thing thin enough to work in this scale realistically. I did make an attempt at using liquid water from Vallejo, but boy howdy was he wearing coke bottle lenses then, woof!

Ok, both heads shown are completed for now with most of the minor details already added. My attempt at adding in facial textures met with utter failure, so I will move on saving that technical approach for a 1/10th​ bust. There comes a time when you have to realize it just ain't happenin, and move on. I will set these aside for now and finish the last two heads before I detail the helmets and move on to the bodies.

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Yes, Goofy has been replaced by one of Steve Reedee's 1/16th​ scale heads. This is a far cry from that ridiculous head that came with the figure. In a conversation I had earlier today regarding well sculpted heads, they pretty much paint themselves. I agree completely, but somebody still has to control the brush, HA!


Thanks for watchin, more to follow shortly. Cheers, Ski.
 
Bart and Billy

The last two heads are in the final stages of completion, but still need some touch-up. Some may be wondering why name these guys. Well, as suggested by someone who paints a heck of a lot better than I, Mike-the-Kiwi said, "For me this association to real individuals helps create a creative connection deeper than just painting a resin figure." I have to agree, and so far, I have been able to get past the "hump" on these faces. This is no different than full emersion when building a dio or a given scenario in the past, but I had never considered this concept when painting figures. Works great for me, I'm likin it! Thanks, Mike!

So, for now, these two faces will set up for a few more days, then the final touches will be worked in. Teeth need to be defined, rosy cheeks need a tad more work, and the lips also. I will feather in any weak areas before I call these done.

You may have noticed; Billy's face is from Steve Reedee's 120mm collection. Great work, Stevo!

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The AB figures and Bart have their initial acrylic base coats. Time to research all of the gear and weapons for the correct color tones, etc. The splinter pattern for Bart will be a challenge given his poncho is not just hanging down like most, it's got a lot of exposed areas to paint. Well, I recon it ain't as bad as a Dennison smock, HA!

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Thanks for watching, more to follow soon. Cheers, Ski.


P.S. The official names for these characters are; Hank, Freddie, Billy, and Bart.
 
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Freddie's Upper Torso

With the heads set aside to dry thoroughly it's time to start on the figures themselves. I started with Freddie and will work through the rest of the team and finish off with "Bob", the German figure. Yes, he's now "Bob", because he's such a close resemblance to Bob Hope I couldn't pass it up, HA! You'll see that more closely later on.

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The palette is primed and ready to go. I started on the front pockets, shoulders, and lastly the gear. Always working from top to bottom and inside to outside I am finishing everything that can be done on the first pass. This avoids any unnecessary handling of any portion that would have already been painted. If I had to go back to the buttons and zippers after painting the legs the chances of "rubbing off" paint from the legs is a high probability. This is not much of an issue with 1/35th scale or 54mm, but in 1/16th or 120mm and larger, it is, or at least for me it always had been. So, top to bottom, inside to outside, works every time.

The upper half of the torso section has the basic tones in place, so now it's time to work the gear, buckles, straps, etc.

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After the lower portion of the blouse has had its initial tone applied, I worked the rest of the gear. Also, I painted the rubbed brass on the buttons, zipper, added worn metal effect on the clips and buckles, and gave all these points a slight Ivory Black oil pin wash. This tones down the brass color and blends in the effect more realistically so the colors won't appear overly exaggerated.

Now it's time to work outward on the upper half of the torso and finish off each arm. I will wait to paint the hands until the end. I'm finding once again that I'm having to mix the color tones almost every third day and getting those tones exact from the prior session can be challenging. A slight variation can and will be noticeable, at least I can see it, and its rather time consuming to remix oils, so the point is to get all the similar tonal portions painted in sequence and save the flesh work for later.

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Funny how some things can be elusive when you're painting only to slap you in the face when you scrutinize the photos, like the Colt .45 ammo pouch which has a blaring gap between the back side and the blouse pocket. That will be handled shortly.

Ok, time to work the legs before I have to make another color mix, lol. Thanks for watching.

Cheers, Ski.
 
Leg Workout

Now that the work area is larger, and less complicated without so many folds in the pants, this portion moves along much faster. Pre-shading can be seen on the front, back, and sides.

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The end results with the boots and leg straps completed. Freddie's head is ready to take possession of his body.

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With the flag mounted and Freddie completed he will be placed in the curio cabinet awaiting the finish of the rest of the crew.

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Hank is on the plate, "Batter Up!" I would ponder to guess this historical photo was the inspiration for Hank. Hank has been sculpted pretty close to this original, IMHO.

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Pre-shading has been worked into the entire upper torso and blending of the tones begins.

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More to follow soon and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
 
Leg Workout

Now that the work area is larger, and less complicated without so many folds in the pants, this portion moves along much faster. Pre-shading can be seen on the front, back, and sides.

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The end results with the boots and leg straps completed. Freddie's head is ready to take possession of his body.

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With the flag mounted and Freddie completed he will be placed in the curio cabinet awaiting the finish of the rest of the crew.

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Hank is on the plate, "Batter Up!" I would ponder to guess this historical photo was the inspiration for Hank. Hank has been sculpted pretty close to this original, IMHO.

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Pre-shading has been worked into the entire upper torso and blending of the tones begins.

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More to follow soon and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
Once again, amazing work.
Pantherman
 
Hank Reporting for Duty

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Hank is ready and in the mood to get busy with this scenario. I'm calling him done minus a slight touch up at the base of his neck and a slight darkening of his bayonet.

Here's a few in-progress photos before his legs were worked, but the process has been the same as Freddie. The Khaki tone is slightly more towards the tannish tone range compared with Freddie. Billy will be right next to Freddie when I mix the palette for him. Since these two will be right next to each other I don't want any noticeable tonal variations.

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Hank will now be set aside in the cabinet to await his fellow jumpers. I really don't feel like playing with a broken bayonet, so he won't be staying in the model bunker.

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Thanks for watching and holler if you see anything I may have missed.


Cheers, Ski.
 
Billy Bob, from Kentucky, is Ready for Duty, with a Smile, or smirk!

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Billy was handled in the same manner as Hank and Freddie. Close attention was paid to the palette tones this time around to get as close as possible to his mate, Freddie. Like I mentioned before, redressing color tones on the palette can be a pain, but I recon we're mighty dang close on this run. After all, they are standing next to each other in this scenario, they need to be looking like they got their uniforms at the same time.

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The format for painting Billy was simple enough, just do it again, for the third time, lol. The one gripe I have is the right hand, it's rather kinda "Bozo" in appearance, but oh well, Ruck On. There really isn't much I could do about it short of a re-sculpt and I have not talent in that arena.

Here Is the trio front and center in a group photo. I am happy with the results so far.

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Now it's time to get into the splinter camo pattern of the SS and get to work on "Bob". Ya, that's right, a German Bob. Lol, I can hear it already, or again, like it hasn't been brought up before,….. a German "Bob"? Ya gotta remember, this is a comical scenario which will be evident soon enough. I'm having fun on this trip.

Thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.
 
Thanks, Blake. I really do like the workability of oils. Something about constant layering drives me bonkers (acrylics) and reminds me of enamels, yikes!
 

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